Jose Lopez, the last witness for the state attorney general’s office in their commercial bribery case against West New York Mayor Felix Roque, testified that he drove Rehan Zuberi to Roque’s office so that he could give him bribes.
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Lopez pleaded guilty to third-degree commercial bribery and third-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity after being arrested as part of Operation RayScam.
Under direct examination from Deputy Attorney General Crystal Callahan, Lopez, who spoke through a translator, testified that he transported patients back and forth from Roque’s medical center in West New York to American Imaging in Hackensack – back in 2013.
He said he began working for Zuberi at the end of 2008 and eventually began making trips every one to three months for Zuberi to bribe Roque.
Chris Adams, co-counsel for Roque, as he has done with other witnesses, accused Lopez of lying about his interactions with Roque in order to get a lighter sentence from the state.
Earlier, Lopez testified that he was also cooperating with the state against an unnamed doctor involved with the Zuberi organization.
His crimes could have netted him up to 10 years in state prison, but it is possible he will not serve any time after his cooperation with the state concludes.
The state rested after Lopez’s testimony and Roque’s defense team quickly called three patients to the stand before the mayor opted to testify.
Our report on the afternoon session of Roque’s trial will be available tomorrow.
